Enterprise applications require fast access to application data and application services. Typically, in an environment that includes an application server (e.g., a WebLogic server or another application server) and a data grid (e.g., Coherence), the application data and application services have been managed in the data grid separately from the application server. Applications running in the application server do not have direct access to the application data and application services provided by the data grid. Additionally, the data grid can not be directly managed from within the application server. These are the areas that embodiments of the invention are intended to address.